Lot 53: JOSÉ AGUSTÍN ARRIETA (1802-1879)

JOSÉ AGUSTÍN ARRIETA (1802-1879) EL REQUIEBRO signed lower right; also titled on the reverse oil on canvas 45 1/4 by 35 1/2 in. 115 by 90 cm Painted circa 1850.

Guillermo Prieto, San Lunes de Fidel, la colonia española, Mexico, 1879, p. 3
Francisco Cabrera, Agustín Arrieta Pintor Costumbrista, Mexico, 1963, p. 72, illustrated
Elisa García Barragán, José Agustín Arrieta: Lumbres De Lo Cotidiano, Mexico City, 1998, no. 8, p. 77, illustrated in color

Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Latin American Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture and Prints, November 18, 1991, lot 4, illustrated in color

José Agustín Arrieta was the foremost Mexican 19th century exponent of the "costumbrista" school – a genre which chronicled local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs. Located in Puebla, a large colonial town outside of Mexico City, Arrieta became known for his still lives and his acutely observed depictions of life in a provincial town.

Dama y soldado (El requiebro) – loosely translated as " The Flirt" -- is one of a pair of paintings. The other work, titled Intervención is currently on loan to the Museo de Historia de Monterrey. They both deal with one of Arrieta's favorite subjects: the women from Puebla called chinas poblanas, literally translated as "Chinese girl from Puebla". A china poblana refers to a type of costume that illustrates the converging European, Amerindian and Asian cultures that were present in colonial Mexico – one of the great commercial hubs of its time. The costume of the china poblana with her European white blouse, brightly embroidered scarf reminiscent of Chinese silks and green rebozo (Mexican shawl) has come to symbolize the Mexican national costume.

El requiebro and Intervención follow a narrative in which an over eager soldier, perhaps after a few glasses of pulque, tries to steal a kiss from a woman who has just come back from the market, her basket filled with luscious fruit. The pretty matron pulls away as her son pulls at her skirt. The next part of the story is depicted in Intervención, when the same woman comes between her husband, clutching a knife, who wants to protect her honor, and the now not so arrogant soldier who is trying to run away.